Missing
by Gerri
Summary: Ever wondered what would happen if one of the Animorphs didn't make it back from a battle?


_DISCLAIMER: I don't own Animorphs; the almighty K.A Applegate does. I don't own Hanson or their song, either. And I'm not making any money off this; I'm totally broke._  
  
_Author's note: The setting for this story is actually *before* #45. Because, as you will see in this story, Marco still goes to school._  
  


Missing

  
  
Hi.  
  
I'm Rachel.  
  
You know the drill. I can't tell you my last name and a lot of other stuff because the Yeerks are here.  
  
But it's been pretty quiet this past week.  
  
You see, we'd attacked the Yeerk Pool last week, and by some fluke, we managed to get Tom out.  
  
Then we got a Chee to go down to the Pool every three days, posing as Tom, to "feed", so that the Yeerks wouldn't find out that Tom was a free human being.  
  
And we made Tom an Animorph.  
  


***

  
  
Friday morning.  
  
I was eating my cereal and staring at the folded newspaper lying across the table.  
  
I was looking at the back page and splashed all over it was a picture of a teenaged kid and a headline.  
  
A single word: "MISSING".  
  
The date of disappearance was placed as sometime last week.  
  
He was last seen by his parents, wearing a grey, collared T-shirt with two buttons at the collar and blue jeans.  
  
In the picture, the kid was smiling; his eyes sparkled with a cheerful light as the corners of his mouth lilted up in a gentle smile.  
  
That picture was taken last year, before he knew about the Yeerk threat.  
  
Because after he knew, he had never smiled like that anymore.  
  
His grayish-green eyes had always looked sad and and serious at the same time, and he'd seemed a lot older then his age.  
  
The name under the picture was "Jake".  
  


***

  
  
My first class for the day was Math.  
  
Most of the kids were talking and the room was filled with the sound of chatter.  
  
But I just sat there and fixed my gaze on Jake's seat in the second row.  
  
Normally, at this time when everyone was talking, Jake would've been asleep at his desk, trying to catch another forty winks before the teacher came in.  
  
And just then, the math teacher, Mr O'Riley, came in carrying a stack of papers.  
  
The chatter in the room died down to a buzz and the buzz soon gave way to absolute silence.  
  
"I'll be returning your Math tests..." Mr O'Riley said, and was cut off as the chatter started up again.  
  
He started to call out the names.  
  
"Steve...Aaron...Rachel..."  
  
I went up to get my paper.  
  
Once I was seated, I peeked at the grade.  
  
B+.  
  
Amazing. I could still secure a B+ with all that had happened lately.  
  
"Jake," Mr O'Riley called.  
  
Dead silence fell over the class.  
  
"Jake?" Mr O'Riley called again, probably puzzled at why Jake wasn't coming up to get his paper and why the class had suddenly gone silent.  
  
The man had forgotten that Jake was "missing".  
  
He looked around, and then he spotted the empty seat.  
  
Then he just looked embarrassed.  
  
I raised my hand.  
  
"Yes, Rachel?"  
  
"Sir, would it be all right if I collected Jake's paper for him?"  
  
"Yes, Rachel...Of course."  
  
He held out the test.  
  
My chair scraped the floor, making a loud noise in the graveyard-like silence of the classroom.  
  
I stood up and walked to the front, feeling every pair of eyes in the classroom fixed on me as I took each step.  
  
When I got back to my seat, I looked at his grade.  
  
A-.  
  
I smiled to myself ruefully.  
  
Jake had always been better than me at Math, but most of the time, he felt that he could've done better.  
  
He felt that he could've been a better leader too.  
  
His own expectations of himself had always been too high.  
  


***

  
  
After last period, I waited at the entrance of the school.  
  
Tom was already there, waiting for us.  
  
Marco emerged a few minutes later, his tanned face looking darker and sullen. He wasn't even in the mood to make jokes.  
  
Cassie followed shortly.  
  
She looked like hell.  
  
Her eyes were swollen and red from crying; bloodshot, even. She hugged her books close to her chest, and her lips were sealed shut in a tight line.  
  
Silently, the four of us made our way to the woods behind Cassie's barn, where Ax and Tobias were waiting.  
  
Quite far into the woods, there was a little round clearing. The branches of nearby trees had grown over the clearing, forming a thin, light green canopy which still let sunlight peek through.  
  
We buried Jake here.  
  
Ax had rigged up a forcefield around Jake's body, and the emitter was powered by solar energy. The forcefield was airtight, obviously, and prevented the soil from coming into contact with the body. In short, the forcefield was preserving Jake's body, in a way.  
  
Grass was starting to grow on the overturned earth, and a crude wooden cross was the only thing left to mark the grave site.  
  
We didn't write anything on the cross, for fear that someone would come across the grave. 'Cause then, everybody would know that the "missing" kid was dead, and the cops would want to know who buried him, how he died, and a lot of other things that would not be healthy for them to know.  
  
And we couldn't tell anyone what had happened.  
  
Tom, Cassie, Marco, Tobias, Ax and I stood around the grave, each of us grieving inside, but refusing to show it on the outside. I remembered something Marco once said on one of our first missions.  
  
_"...One day, we're all gonna be standing around here crying because either Jake or Rachel or Cassie or Tobias is gone..."_  
  
I hated to admit it, but he'd been right all along. Every mission we undertook had a big risk attached to it. Before this, all of us had always come back alive.  
  
But this time, Jake hadn't made it back.  
  
Somehow, I thought it was really strange. Jake died, but Tom was freed.  
  
I know that Jake had always dreamt of the day when he would finally free Tom, but ironically, now that Tom _was_ free, Jake wasn't around to see it.  
  
Then part of a song came into my head.  
  
"Yearbook". By Hanson...  
  


_...Tell me where did he go, I want to know  
Where did Johnny go?  
It says, "Picture unavailable" right here  
More than sad, it makes me mad to know somebody knows  
There's a lying in your silence. Tell me where did Johnny go?  
Poor Katie, she won't even speak his name  
None of us will ever be the same  
It's quiet in the halls, but I hear echoing off the walls.  
The rumors of Johnny's mystery..._

  
  
Jake was just like the "Johnny" in that song.  
  
Nobody would ever know why or how he disappeared, and the lies would be in our silences, because we are the only ones who know.  
  
Unless, the Yeerks were defeated, nobody would ever know that Jake was dead, either. He would just remain "missing", after another two months or so, he would be "presumed dead", too.  
  
But to the six of us, Jake will live on, right here, in our hearts.  
  
And we will beat the Yeerks. For Jake.  
  
Then everyone will know that my cousin died fighting, right to the end.  
  
And for the sake of freedom, the rest of us are willing do the same.  
  
  
_Copyright Gerri 2000_  
  
  
Thanks for taking some of your time to read this story. I would _really_ appreciate it if you reviewed it too! Just a little reminder: this is my very _first_ Ani-fic, so _please_ be gentle!! 


End file.
